


Who is this man I see?

by kayleeschuyler (stephaniebithell)



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Ambiguous/Open Ending, Angst, Dark Lance (Voltron), M/M, Prince Keith (Voltron), Prince Lance (Voltron)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-02
Updated: 2019-07-02
Packaged: 2020-06-02 14:14:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19443091
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stephaniebithell/pseuds/kayleeschuyler
Summary: Keith is the Crown Prince of his country and has just survived an assassination attempt.  Now as he walks to meet his attacker, he reflects on his life and how this has all come to pass.





	Who is this man I see?

Keith’s hands were shaking as he strode through the halls of his castle. He was tired and weary and even though it had been a long night, it wasn’t yet over. He couldn’t believe what had happened. It was almost unheard of to have a monarch assassinated anymore, and yet here he was, walking down to the castle dungeons to interrogate an assassin.

Well, attempted assassin.

It had be pure, dumb luck that their attempt had failed. Keith could still feel where the assassin's’ blade had nicked the skin of his neck, his hands still bled from where he had gripped the steel to force it back and his heart was still racing from the adrenaline of the fight. Not that it had been much of a fight. 

He had been ambushed while he was preparing for bed, still only half dressed in his pants and a towel around his head as he dried his hair. They had taken his moment of blindness and had pushed him to the ground, thankfully the years of fighting instinct that had been ingrained into Keith since he was a child had kicked in and had saved him from the first attempt. 

He had swung a knee up to connect soundly with the assassin’s stomach, which had forced them to dive out of range of his flailing limbs as he scrambled back up onto his feet, in his close quarters fighting stance. In the struggle, the towel had fallen from his head, which gave him a clear view of the person attacking him.

No. He still couldn’t believe it.

It was impossible.

It couldn’t be…

Keith felt his heart break as he remembered the face of the man who had tried to kill him. The man who had tried to plunge a razor sharp dagger into his heart. The man who had been Keith’s closest confidant and companion for most of their lives. The man who Keith had considered to be his one true love. The man who Keith had married three years ago in a beautiful ceremony. The man who Keith had been considering adopting children with.

“Lance,” Keith said as he arrived at the cell where his would be assassin stood. 

As Keith stared at his assassin, no husband, he tried to think of what he could have possibly done to drive Lance to want to kill him. Sure they had fought on occasion, but mostly they had been small almost insignificant arguments that were over before they had truly begun. They had always agreed on the politics of running a kingdom and if anything Lance had always counselled him with caution and compassion.

Lance had seemed happy with his life here in the castle, even if it had taken him a while to get used to the lifestyle and responsibilities of a prince. He had been born a commoner, not that it was a bad thing, to a castle maid and a boatmaker. His life had been simple, he had been loved and cared for, while they had been poorer than a prince, they had never had to go wanting for food or warm clothes.

They had met when Keith and Lance had been small boys, Lance’s mother having to bring him with her to work one day when his normal babysitter was ill. Keith had spotted the small boy sitting by himself outside a bedroom, playing with a small wooden boat. The young prince had thought nothing of introducing himself to a potential new playmate and within the hour, both boys had found themselves playing hide and seek with the royal guard, not that the guards were aware of the game.

From that point on Keith and Lance were inseparable, it had taken every bit of their combined puppy dog eyes to convince the King and Queen to allow Lance back to the castle to become Keith’s official playmate, much to Lance’s parent’s delight. They had grown up together, become best friends and then as they had gotten older, something more.

When Keith had asked Lance to marry him, it had been one of the most terrifying moments in his life, or at least up until that point he now realised. He had been so worried that Lance would reject him and his love, but it had all been for naught. Or had it? Had it all been a ploy to get closer to Keith? Had Lance ever truly loved him?

Lance frowned as he looked back at Keith, his normally pristine clothing had been torn and dirtied during their scuffle and the ensuring fight with the royal guard. He was leaning against the back wall of his cell, his arms crossed as he stared at Keith. 

“What do you want?” Lance sneered. 

“Why?” Keith said, “Why did you do it?”

Lance shifted his body to stand up straight, “Why? You really need to ask? Why?”

“Please Lance, tell me what I did wrong.”

Lance scoffed, “I’ll tell you what you did, you lied. You lied about everything. You promised me that things would get better. That people like my family would finally get more. Instead, you raise their taxes, you increase the cost of food and then you force them to join the army. Now you tell me why.”

Keith froze. Did he lie? He had made that promise to Lance on their wedding night. A promise to make everyone’s lives better, because he had known how much it had meant to Lance. But he had been doing that. He had been working on that for the past three years to improve the lives of his citizens. 

“Lance,” Keith said, “I don’t… I mean… But I…”

“You can’t even defend yourself, can you?” Lance moved to stand in front Keith at the bars, “You deceived me in every way possible. Did you even love me, or was I just a distraction to keep the other lords happy that you had married someone?”

“No!” Keith cried as tears started to roll down his face, “I love you Lance! I have always loved you! I never lied! I only did those things to be able to help the people. I… I thought I was doing the right thing.”

“The right thing? The right thing? You call making it impossible for a mother to buy her children food the right thing? You call making a husband have to choose between leaving his family or facing jail for not joining the army the right thing?” Lance shouted, “You are an idiot if you thought you were doing the right thing. You are pathetic. I can’t believe I married you.”

“Lance, please,” Keith said, “I’m begging you. Give me something to work with so that you don’t die. You know the rest of the court is going to call for your head. You attacked me. You tried to kill the Crown Prince.”

“Let them try,” Lance said as he moved back to stand where he had started, “You aren’t the only one with connections anymore.”

Keith went to put his hand through the bars, but was held back by the guard who was stationed at the cell. “Please Lance. I love you.”

“Sleep with one eye open, Prince of Lies,” Lance said with a smile.

Keith sobbed as he backed away from the prison cell that held his husband, no his would be assassin. The man who Keith had loved was no longer recognisable in the person in front of him. The man who had willingly tried to end his life. The one who had sneered at him for all his work to help their kingdom grow. 

The few things Keith had managed to do so far, by raising the taxes, he could build more roads and houses, by increasing the cost of food, it had ensured that the farmers and fishermen could produce more product, by having each family have one member join the royal army, they could ensure that their kingdom was well protected and gave each family a steady high earning wage.

He could only hope that perhaps his cousin, Prince Lotor could help him convince the courts to keep Lance alive. That he could be reverted back to the sweet and caring man who had made Keith fall in love with. Lotor knew Lance, they had become such close friends over the past few years, even going on trips together to visit the outreaching areas of their kingdom. Surely he would do this if Keith asked him. He could only hope that whatever Lance’s last threat meant, didn’t seal his fate.


End file.
